Literature / The Eight

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The Eight is a novel by American author Katherine Neville. Computer scientist Cat Velis becomes involved in the search for a legendary chess set, the Montglane Service, once owned by Charlemagne. Split into double narratives, the novel also tells the story of eighteenth-century nun Mireille and her attempts to protect the set.

Tropes:

Action Girl: Catherine and Lily, but the most amazing one is Mireille.

Artistic License – History: Of course. Just a few: Basque people were never a menace for the Carolingian Empire. The rules for the Mad-Queen Chess, or modern chess, are from the XIV century, making it impossible to have a Chess Master associated with Charlemagne. In fact, in that era, there was no queen at all, but a piece named Vizier.

Babies Ever After: Cat and Solarin had a daughter named Alexandra Solarin who is the sequel's protagonist.

Crazy People Play Chess: One minor player insists that, when he captures a piece, a spectator be kicked out of the room so that the room's 'symmetry' is maintained.

Dark Is Not Evil: The main characters in the first book are on the black team. Cat Velis takes over from Mireille as the Black Queen. The antagonists are all on the white team. In the sequel it gets a little more complicated.

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